No. Trump Did Not Randomly Praise A Confederate General.

This is the only soundbite you’ll probably hear all weekend.

WATCH: President Trump says "Robert E. Lee was a great general" during Ohio rally, calling the Confederate leader "incredible." pic.twitter.com/HhsLI1Mk05

— NBC News (@NBCNews) October 13, 2018

Because of that, Robert E. Lee was trending last night like crazy. People were flipping out.

The racism in the GOP runs deep. https://t.co/Iq2dLcQW5D

— Soledad O'Brien (@soledadobrien) October 13, 2018

Literally, the GOP (as a party) has a huge issue with racism.

— Soledad O'Brien (@soledadobrien) October 13, 2018

President Trump gives an Ohio rally crowd his view of the civil war, delving into Grant’s drinking, Lincoln’s phobia and “great general” Robert E. Lee https://t.co/KPHHDvyirb pic.twitter.com/5Q4MtpzSeq

— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) October 13, 2018

Robert E. Lee was not a great general, President Trump.

He waged a war to hold onto the legal institution of white supremacy. https://t.co/TZvUood3kg

— Southern Poverty Law Center (@splcenter) October 13, 2018

BREAKING: Trump says "Robert E. Lee was a great general” then calls him “incredible” at an Ohio rally just now.

Do you know what’s incredible? This man’s ignorance. pic.twitter.com/RA41C4g6Gh

— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) October 13, 2018

Ready for the truth? Trump was setting up the conversation to praise Grant for defeating him. GOOD GRIEF PEOPLE. Are we really doing this? Are we really going to pretend that Trump was just praising Lee because he LOOOOOOVES him some racism?

If you listen to the clip, he’s clearly telling a story and building to the point of Lincoln appointing Grant as Lt. General and head of Army of the Potomac, where he proceeded to take Lee on and win where other Union generals had failed. Y’all are such hacks. https://t.co/SfOC9G196d

— Cam Edwards (@CamEdwards) October 13, 2018

Even though he was on the wrong side, he was what BOTH sides called a great general. Why is that controversial now? Oh right right. Because Trump mentioned it.

Trump speaks of the Union generals that came before Grant; great generals, head of their class at West Point, but they didn’t know how to win. And Trump is right. McClellan was a disaster, and would have preferred to keep his army in camp instead of fighting. 2/

— Cam Edwards (@CamEdwards) October 13, 2018

Ambrose Burnside replaced McClellan after Antietam in November of 1862. Lincoln wanted a fighter, and Burnside presented a plan to take Richmond. He never got there, suffering a massive defeat at Fredericksburg, VA in December of ‘62. 3/

— Cam Edwards (@CamEdwards) October 13, 2018

Joseph Hooker took over command of the Army of the Potomac in January of 1863. He was gone before the 4th of July, resigning after a conflict with Lincoln not long after his disastrous defeat at Chancellorsville. 4/

— Cam Edwards (@CamEdwards) October 13, 2018

George Meade replaced Hooker, just in time for the Battle of Gettysburg. While Lee was defeated, Lincoln was aghast at the fact that Lee and his army escaped the field of battle and made their way to Virginia. 5/

— Cam Edwards (@CamEdwards) October 13, 2018

So yes, Lincoln felt like none of the generals to go up against Lee had been as aggressive as he wanted. Meanwhile Grant’s having massive successes out west, including Shiloh and Vicksburg. After his victory in the Chattanooga campaign, Lincoln made his move. 6/

— Cam Edwards (@CamEdwards) October 13, 2018

He named Grant Lt. General, the first man since George Washington to hold that rank. And he set Grant loose on Lee. What followed was the brutal Overland campaign, where Grant used superior numbers of personnel to grind out victories and push Lee and his army south. 7/

— Cam Edwards (@CamEdwards) October 13, 2018

The number of Union casualties was staggering; nearly 55,000 dead and wounded. Lee’s army lost a little more than 30,000 men. But Grant could afford to lose more men than Lee, and he knew that’s what it would take to win. 8/

— Cam Edwards (@CamEdwards) October 13, 2018

That was Trump’s point; that Grant had the will to fight and to press the point rather than withdrawing, and that in turn allowed him victory over Lee. @NBCNews wants you believe that Trump went to Ohio to praise Robert E. Lee instead of Ohioan U.S. Grant.

They’re hacks. 9/9

— Cam Edwards (@CamEdwards) October 13, 2018

The HACKIEST. Holy cow. How dishonest can they be?